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Smriti Mandhana has taken the blame for India’s batting collapse against England on Sunday night at their women’s World Cup match in Indore, where they went from needing a-run-a-ball 57 with seven wickets in hand to a four-run defeat.Chasing 289 for a win, Mandhana was dismissed for 88 off 94 balls in the 42nd over, and from there they slipped to 262 for 6 by the 47th and just couldn’t get the final impetus with left-arm spinners Sophie Ecclestone and Linsey Smith bowling six of the last nine overs.”We could have done better with our shot selection,” a subdued-looking Mandhana said at the press conference. “It started from me, so I will take it on myself that the shot selection should have been better. We just needed six runs per over. Maybe we should have taken the game deeper. I’ll take it [upon] myself because the collapse started from me.”Related

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Smith bowled to Mandhana from around the wicket with deep square-leg, deep midwicket, long-on and long-off in place. Mandhana looked to go inside out over the covers but the ball drifted away a little, making Mandhana mistime it straight down long-off’s throat.”I thought I could take her on, I was trying to aim more over covers,” Mandhana said. “I mistimed that shot. Maybe the shot wasn’t needed at that time. I just needed to be more patient because throughout the innings I was trying to tell myself to be patient and not to play aerial shots.”The emotions took over for that one, which never helps in cricket. But walking back, I was pretty confident that we’ll be able to get the win. But it’s cricket, you can’t ever think too far ahead. If you lose, I don’t think [a good innings] means anything. I had to be a little more patient than I’ve been in the last two-three months.”Four overs after Mandhana fell, Richa Ghosh tried to hit Nat Sciver-Brunt over the off-side infield but chipped a catch to Heather Knight at cover. In the next over, Deepti Sharma slog-swept Ecclestone straight to deep midwicket.3:15

Review: How did India lose this game?

“Richa has been good for us, but I wouldn’t say that it’s only dependent on her,” Mandhana said. “We just needed 6.5 runs per over; it’s not like we needed nine per over that the finishing part was a lot to ask. We have seen Aman [Amanjot Kaur] do that in WPL and Sneh [Rana] has been brilliant in the last four-five overs with the bat for us in the first three-four matches. So, I wouldn’t say that, especially this one, that it was only dependent on one player. We’ll take it upon ourselves that we could have actually done better in the last six-odd overs.”

Was leaving Jemimah Rodrigues out the right call?

India had played each of the previous four matches with five bowlers, and they ended up having to defend targets on each occasion, failing twice, against South Africa and Australia. Against England, they benched Jemimah Rodrigues for an extra bowler in Renuka Singh. As it happened, India were asked to chase and the move to change the team balance came under the spotlight.Renuka, though, was India’s least expensive bowler, conceding runs at 4.62 in her eight overs. In fact, the bowling unit pulled their weight, conceding just 36 runs in the last five overs to stop England at 288 when 300 looked on the cards. But the batting later came unstuck despite half-centuries from Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti.Deepti Sharma’s dismissal was the last nail in India’s coffin•Getty Images

“In the last two matches, we thought that five bowling options were not good enough, especially on a flat track like Indore or [the way] the second game in Visakhapatnam played out,” Mandhana said. “We are not privileged enough to have batters who could bowl a few overs, which a lot of other teams can do. So on a flatter track, we thought that five bowling options could cost us, especially if one bowler has a bad day.”It was definitely a very tough call to drop a player like Jemi. But sometimes you need to do those sorts of things to get the balance right. It is not like this [combination] is going to be there [for the rest of the tournament]. We’ll have to see how the situation is, how the wicket will play and then we’ll take a call.”Mandhana heaped praise on Deepti, who returned 4 for 51, her best at World Cups, and triggered a collapse of 6 for 77. In the process, Deepti also became only the second India woman to take 150 ODI wickets after Jhulan Goswami.”Deepti has been brilliant for us in the last ten-odd years she has played. Today was her 150th ODI wicket. It’s becoming a habit for her to play every match and break some records,” Mandhana said. “Her all-round capacity, especially in one-day cricket, the way she can bat and also bowl, and read the situation has been amazing. I feel she’s done a good job for us in the World Cup and I hope it keeps continuing.”

Where the Yankees go, calamity seems to follow.

While New York is still battling to get back atop the AL East standings, they have displayed some mental mistakes over recent games that have fans shaking their heads in dismay. Manager Aaron Boone has been doing what he can to keep things together, especially regarding Anthony Volpe’s recent spat of fielding errors, but after Austin Wells’s miscue on Wednesday night, it’s going to be a tough post-game press conference.

Wells was on first base with one out in the bottom of the ninth and the Yankees tied up with the Rays, 3–3. The Yanks’ tying run had come courtesy of a Volpe homer earlier in the inning, and the team was on the verge of walking the night off in feel-good fashion and hopefully turning the page to brighter days.

At the plate, Trent Grisham laid down a bunt as well as you can do it, advancing Wells to second base with two outs, and putting the Yankees just one hit away from taking the win.

But Wells didn’t stay on second. Instead, he wandered off the base, appearing to believe that Grisham’s out at first had ended the inning. He was caught in a run-down, clearly confused, and the inning was mercifully over.

Wells’s mistake is just an indictment of the Yankees’ fundamentals. You simply always have to know how many outs there are in the inning. Further, if your team had two outs and a man on first base, THEY WOULD NOT BE BUNTING TO GET YOU OVER TO SECOND BASE!!!

Fans online expressed their disbelief at Wells’s lack of awareness.

Luckily for the Yankees, this time they escaped, pulling out the win with a walk-off in the 11th inning.

But while leaving with the W makes for a good night, it’s clear New York has to figure something out and get these small mistakes out of their system if they want to make a run in the postseason.

Shafali hasn’t played ODIs for India since October 2024 but has been in good form for India A

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2025Shafali Verma, originally not part of India’s Women’s World Cup squad – either the main 15 or the reserves – has received a late call-up as a replacement for Pratika Rawal, who has been ruled out with an ankle injury. Shafali, 21, is available for India’s semi-final against Australia on October 30.The selectors picked her over Tejal Hasabnis, who was the only batter among India’s reserves for the World Cup.When the World Cup squad was announced in August, Shafali was left out – and Rawal was preferred as Smriti Mandhana’s opening partner – because the selectors prioritised consistency over X-factor. Shafali hasn’t played ODIs for India since October 2024 but has been involved with India A in the 50-overs format. She scored 52 against Australia A in Brisbane in August and 70 against New Zealand A in Bengaluru in September.Related

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In December 2024, Shafali also scored 527 runs at an average of 75.28 and a strike rate of 152.31 in the domestic one-dayers for Haryana, including a top-score of 197 off 115 balls against Bengal. She followed that up with a sensational WPL 2025 season for Delhi Capitals, becoming the fourth-highest run-getter in the season and the most prolific Indian batter, with 304 runs at a strike rate of 152.76.As Rawal’s replacement, Shafali could come into the playing XI for the semi-final against Australia right away. The opening partnership between Mandhana and Rawal had been critical to India’s progress into the semi-finals. They have featured in two of the tournament’s top five batting partnerships so far – 212 against New Zealand and 155 against Australia. Rawal averaged 51.33 in six innings, with scores of 75 against Australia and a match-winning 122 in India’s crucial game against New Zealand.Pratika Rawal walks off the field after twisting her ankle•Getty Images

Rawal, the tournament’s second-highest run-getter, injured herself while fielding during India’s last league game against Bangladesh. In the 21st over of Bangladesh’s innings, Rawal twisted her ankle as her foot got stuck in the turf while she attempted to stop a boundary. She did not bat later, with Amanjot Kaur opening instead. The match was eventually washed out without a result. Only Mandhana has scored more runs than Rawal in this World Cup.If Shafali does not make the XI right away, India could open with Harleen Deol or Amanjot against Australia. Uma Chetry – who opened in the warm-up game against New Zealand, and played the match against Bangladesh with regular wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh out with a niggle – is another option, as is Jemimah Rodrigues, who has opened 18 times in ODI cricket previously.An ICC release stated that Shafali’s inclusion was approved by the Event Technical Committee on Monday evening. The committee includes Wasim Khan (Chair, ICC General Manager – Cricket), Gaurav Saxena (ICC General Manager – Events & Corporate Communications), Abey Kuruvilla (BCCI Tournament Director) and Mel Jones (Independent nominee).

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Ederson saiu lesionado da partida entre Liverpool e Manchester City no último domingo (10) e deve virar dor de cabeça para Dorival Jr. A lesão do goleiro do City tem consequências diretas para a Seleção Brasileira, que tem compromissos ao final de março.

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O brasileiro se chocou com o Darwin Nunes, atacante do Liverpool, e precisou ser substituído logo no início do segundo tempo. Foi constatada uma lesão no músculo reto femoral da perna direita e a previsão de recuperação é de três a quatro semanas. Com isso, Ederson ficaria de fora dos amistosos entre Espanha e Inglaterra, nos dias 23 e 26 de março, segundo a ESPN.

O clube inglês comunicou a CBF sobre a lesão do goleiro após exames feitos nesta segunda-feira (11), o que deixa Dorival Jr com problemas na defesa. Além de Ederson, o técnico da Seleção Brasileira também não pode contar com Alisson, titular na última Copa do Mundo, que também está fora por lesão.

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O goleiro deve ser avaliado ao longo da semana, recebendo um diagnóstico mais preciso para o restante da temporada e para confirmar ausência ou presença nos amistosos.

Caso seja confirmado o corte, será a segunda vez em quatro meses que o jogador terá de se ausentar de seu compromisso junto ao Brasil. Em novembro de 2023, sob o comando de Fernando Diniz, uma lesão no pé esquerdo do brasileiro o tirou dos jogos contra a Colômbia e a Argentina pelas Eliminatórias para a Copa do Mundo de 2026.

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Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta issued a rallying cry to supporters. “Be in your seats by 7.30pm,” he commanded.

Fans inside the Emirates Stadium did not disappoint. North London Forever blared out from the sound system and after an intense week in which they’d gone unbeaten against Spurs, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, the fans were very needed.

The Gunners failed to defeat ten-man Chelsea at the weekend and it was a performance that looked tired. Arsenal have enormous squad depth but injuries are already testing this crop of players. As a result, Arteta rang the changes for the visit of Brentford on Wednesday night.

Arsenal may well have secured a 2-0 victory but it was not a vintage performance. It was a display befitting of just how different the starting XI looked.

There were no Bukayo Saka or Eberechi Eze. Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke started instead. With Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba still injured, the responsibilities at the heart of the defence fell to Cristian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie again.

Did they deliver? Well, Arsenal scored twice and kept a clean sheet, so it’s hard to argue against that.

Did Arsenal's midweek starters stake their claim?

Mosquera and Hincapie were rather patched together at the last minute when Saliba sustained a training injury late last week.

The Frenchman has now missed the last two games but for the two summer signings, this was a more composed and easier night than their showing at Stamford Bridge.

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Hincapie has been brave and aggressive in both fixtures but Mosquera struggled against Chelsea, notably when it came to progressing the ball. Of course, a Brentford side missing the Premier League’s second top goalscorer in Igor Thiago for over an hour helped their cause, but if Arteta is going to be missing two of the world’s finest defenders, the stand-ins have proven they can more than do a job.

It was in attack where Arsenal perhaps struggled a bit more. While Set Piece FC seem to have become more about scoring from open play, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli didn’t do a huge amount to suggest they should be starting.

Madueke was energetic and effervescent on the right flank, performing four dribbles, two of which were successful, but he ultimately lacked end product, amassing two shots and failing to provide a key pass. Martinelli’s night was even worse. He had only one shot and completed just one dribble.

Odegaard, who stood in for Eze, was also lacking sharpness. The skipper created four key passes but lost six of his seven duels.

For Arteta, he will have been pleased with Mikel Merino, however. The Spaniard scored yet again, taking his goal tally as a centre-forward for the club to ten in 22 outings.

Arsenal have been fortunate that they can rely on their squad depth. They’ve missed Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus in recent weeks but Merino has more than stepped up.

It was the substitutes who changed the game on Wednesday too. Saka, who replaced Madueke, scored the second strike to seal all three points for the Londoners.

Yet, the goalscorers were pipped to the man of the match award by someone who’s been on the fringes of things this season.

Arsenal's man of the match against Brentford

The contributions that Saka and Merino came up with were vital but if it wasn’t for the performance of Ben White, this night would have been far more challenging.

For White, this has been a troubling last year or so of his career. Signed for a mega £50m back in 2021, he had established himself as a core member of the Arsenal side.

2021/22

37

0

2022/23

46

7

2023/24

51

9

2024/25

26

2

2025/26

8

1

He was notably described by journalist Tom Barclay as “one of the best prospects in English football” in the summer he moved from Brighton and in the early stages of his Arsenal career he lived up to that, amassing nearly 100 appearances between 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Last season, however, things began to unravel. Fellow right-back Jurrien Timber was back from an ACL injury and his form since has been impeccable. In the words of the Standard’s Simon Collings, he is “the best right-back in the Premier League right now.”

What didn’t help White last season were persistent injuries that meant he was never really able to build momentum.

In 2025/26, though, he’s been available all season but has been met with stubborn resistance from Arteta to play him. He’s not the first person to find himself in this position during the Spaniard’s tenure.

Think of the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe or Oleksandr Zinchenko. While they all didn’t do a lot wrong in Arsenal colours, Arteta sought to upgrade them at the earliest opportunity available.

Zinchenko, in particular, has suffered the same fate as White has this season. When the Ukrainian signed for Arsenal from Manchester City he revolutionised the way Arsenal were able to play.

Previously, Arteta’s system saw Tierney flying forward from left-back but Zinchenko was fielded as an inverted full-back, something we now see from both Myles Lewis-Skelly and Riccardo Calafiori.

During that 2022/23 campaign, Zinchenko and White were vital from their respective roles in defence. They contributed in all phases of play. The former Man City man was finally moved on in the summer, albeit only on loan to Nottingham Forest and if White wasn’t careful, he may have been heading elsewhere too.

But, he revived his career on Wednesday, given just his second start in the top-flight all campaign. The defender’s only previous start came against Manchester United on the opening weekend and since then, Timber has made the spot his own.

When Brentford came to town, White rolled back the years. The 28-year-old was phenomenal, notably providing the assist for Merino’s opener.

He took home the player of the match award and deservedly so for a display in which the England international won more duels (10) and made more tackles (6) than any other player against Brentford. He also made more clearances than any of his Arsenal colleagues (6).

Many have tried and failed to get back in Arteta’s good books. Zinchenko and Ramsdale can testify to that. However, White has showcased that he’s still very much an elite full-back and he should not be dismissed just yet.

With Mosquera having had to limp off the field in the first half with an injury, replaced at centre-half by Timber, it would not be a surprise to see White back in the starting lineup this weekend against Aston Villa. On the evidence of this performance, he is undroppable right now.

Playing better than Saka: Arsenal ready to pay club-record fee for £132m star

The Arsenal target has been having a better campaign than Bukayo Saka this year.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Dec 3, 2025

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O Fluminense anunciou nesta terça-feira (7) a contratação de Thiago Silva, que retorna ao clube carioca após 16 temporadas. Cria de Xerém, o zagueiro assinou contrato válido até julho de 2026 e vestirá a icônica camisa 3.

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O jogador, que atualmente defende do Chelsea, da Inglaterra, poderá atuar pela equipe de Fernando Diniz a partir do dia 10 de julho, quando a janela de transferências internacionais será aberta. Com isso, o zagueiro estará à disposição da comissão técnica para as oitavas da Copa do Brasil e Libertadores – caso o Fluminense consiga a classificação.

Após disputar três temporadas pela equipe profissional do Fluminense (2006 a 2008), Thiago Silva se transferiu para o futebol europeu, onde se tornou ídolo do Milan, PSG e Chelsea. Pela Seleção Brasileira, disputou quatro Copas do Mundo e duas Olimpíadas.

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A notícia do retorno do zagueiro movimentou as redes sociais. Emocionados, torcedores do Fluminense comemoraram a contratação e elegeram Thiago Silva como “o maior zagueiro do mundo”. Confira a seguir alguns comentários.

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SL’s last-wicket stand of 78 to chase down 304, or an 18-year-old’s heroics? Which Test was better? Vote now!

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2025Update: This poll has ended. The SA-SL 2019 Durban Test moves to the round of 16.The Perera miracle in Durban, 2019
Sri Lanka were enduring a tough time heading into this series. They were coming off a 2-0 pummeling in Australia, their captain had been sacked, and an inexperienced team, led by Dimuth Karunaratne, was put on the plane to South Africa. The perfect lead-up to a heroic comeback story?In what was a seesawing Test in Durban, Sri Lanka emerged victorious, chasing down 304 with one wicket to spare. They had lost their ninth wicket while still 78 runs off their target. Kusal Perera then scored 67 of them all by himself. Perera gave Sri Lanka an incredible finale on the fourth afternoon along with the No. 11 Vishwa Fernando, as they put on a record-breaking tenth-wicket stand to see their team home in a tense finish.At lunch on the day, Sri Lanka were 166 for 5, still 138 runs away from a win, after which Keshav Maharaj scythed through the Sri Lankan lower-middle order, leaving them at 226 for 9. That brought Fernando to the middle, and from the moment he got there, he was entirely focused on survival. He faced 22 balls before he got off the mark.It looked like victory was assured for South Africa, but as Fernando clung on at one end, Perera defended with unreal calm and even took several blows to his body on his way to the target. Batting for 309 minutes, he farmed the strike superbly, and picked his opportunities to attack and push the score forward. Along the way, he also made his career-best Test score of 153, sealing the famous win with a boundary.Debutant Cummins’ heroics in Johannesburg, 2011Trust Pat Cummins to do something heroic. But to do such a thing on his Test debut? As an 18-year-old?Australia had a lot to prove entering this Test. They had been bowled out for 47 in the first Test of the series in Cape Town, their lowest total in 109 years. They had lost that match before lunch on the third day.In seaming conditions at the Wanderers, Australia took a 30-run lead in reply to South Africa’s 266. Having been brought in as Ryan Harris’ replacement for the second Test in Johannesburg, Cummins came to Australia’s rescue in the second innings as he outbowled his more senior colleagues.He gave Australia a fighting chance of victory in a match that, 24 hours earlier, appeared to have slipped from their grasp after superb batting from Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. Cummins was responsible for breaking the Amla-de Villiers stand, as he went on to bag six wickets to set up a target of 310 runs for his team.Openers Shane Watson and Phil Hughes failed to repeat their first-innings displays. They were both out to Vernon Philander as Australia were 19 for 2, but Ricky Ponting and Usman Khawaja brought down the home side’s advantage. Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn’s strikes, though, left Australia six down with another 95 runs to get.Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson then forged a partnership of 72 to erase the bulk of the deficit, but with his team eight down with 12 runs required, it was Cummins who kept his calm and scored two boundaries in the 15 balls he faced to seal the close win for Australia. It was the highest fourth-innings total at the Wanderers.

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